El Salvador vs Guatemala
El Salvador vs Guatemala: Government debt
Government debt in 2025: 87.6% of GDP in El Salvador and 26.7% of GDP in Guatemala, by IMF estimates. In 2025 the value was higher in El Salvador, by 60.8 percentage points, or 3.28 times that in Guatemala.
% of GDP · IMF
What the numbers say
- El Salvador has been higher in every year both have figures for since 2000.
- In 2025, El Salvador ranked 26 and Guatemala ranked 134 of 149 countries, counting from the highest.
- The IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) puts El Salvador at 80.3% of GDP and Guatemala at 30.6% of GDP in 2031.
Every year
% of GDP · IMF
| Year | El Salvador | Guatemala |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 87.6 | 26.7 |
| 2024 | 87.7 | 26.3 |
| 2023 | 83.9 | 27.2 |
| 2022 | 83.7 | 29 |
| 2021 | 88 | 30.6 |
| 2020 | 95.4 | 31.5 |
| 2019 | 77.9 | 26.4 |
| 2018 | 77 | 26.4 |
| 2017 | 77.1 | 25.1 |
| 2016 | 75.2 | 24.9 |
| 2015 | 73.5 | 24.8 |
| 2014 | 71.8 | 24.7 |
| 2013 | 69.7 | 25 |
| 2012 | 70 | 24.6 |
| 2011 | 65.6 | 23.8 |
| 2010 | 66.8 | 24 |
| 2009 | 65.8 | 22.8 |
| 2008 | 54.2 | 19.6 |
| 2007 | 52.2 | 20.8 |
| 2006 | 52.6 | 20.9 |
| 2005 | 46.3 | 20 |
| 2004 | 46.8 | 20.6 |
| 2003 | 46 | 19.8 |
| 2002 | 43.8 | 17.4 |
| 2001 | 37.8 | 19.1 |
| 2000 | 29.6 | 18 |
| 1999 | 28 | – |
| 1998 | 25.7 | – |
| 1997 | 27.8 | – |
| 1996 | 28.6 | – |
| 1995 | 28 | – |
| 1994 | 30.6 | – |
| 1993 | 31.9 | – |
| 1992 | 36.4 | – |
| 1991 | 43.3 | – |
IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) · 2026–2031
| Year | El Salvador | Guatemala |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 85 | 27.5 |
| 2027 | 89.2 | 28.4 |
| 2028 | 87.3 | 29.2 |
| 2029 | 85 | 29.7 |
| 2030 | 82.8 | 30.2 |
| 2031 | 80.3 | 30.6 |
Each country on its own
Good to know
- What the government owes, as a share of the economy’s yearly output.
- Source: IMF, World Economic Outlook, October 2026.
- The dashed line is the IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026), a scenario rather than a forecast.
- Ranks count the 149 countries with a value in 2025, highest first.
How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Countries through time
El Salvador vs Guatemala
Health
- Life expectancyEl Salvador: 72.1 years in 2023Guatemala: 72.6 years in 2023
- Child mortalityEl Salvador: 1 per 100 live births in 2024Guatemala: 2.1 per 100 live births in 2024
- Infant mortalityEl Salvador: 9.5 per 1,000 live births in 2023Guatemala: 17.6 per 1,000 live births in 2023
- DepressionEl Salvador: 3.03% in 2017Guatemala: 3.22% in 2017
- Suicide rateEl Salvador: 9.8 per 100,000 people in 2017Guatemala: 5.9 per 100,000 people in 2017
People
- PopulationEl Salvador: 6.31 million people in 2023Guatemala: 18.1 million people in 2023
- Population growthEl Salvador: 0.46% a year in 2023Guatemala: 1.55% a year in 2023
- Fertility rateEl Salvador: 1.78 births per woman in 2023Guatemala: 2.31 births per woman in 2023
- Urban populationEl Salvador: 75.5% in 2025Guatemala: 56.3% in 2025
- Median ageEl Salvador: 27 years in 2023Guatemala: 22.6 years in 2023
- People aged 65 and overEl Salvador: 8% in 2023Guatemala: 4.7% in 2023
- Net migration rateEl Salvador: -3.7 per 1,000 people in 2023Guatemala: -0.5 per 1,000 people in 2023
Economy
Education
Politics
Conflict
Military
- Military spendingEl Salvador: 1.34% of GDP in 2025Guatemala: 0.52% of GDP in 2025
- Military spending in US dollarsEl Salvador: $489M in 2025Guatemala: $617M in 2025
- Military spending per personEl Salvador: $77 in 2025Guatemala: $34 in 2025
- Military share of state spendingEl Salvador: 4.4% of government spending in 2025Guatemala: 3.5% of government spending in 2025
- Armed forces personnelEl Salvador: 42,000 people in 2020Guatemala: 43,000 people in 2020
- National powerEl Salvador: 0.05% of world capability in 2022Guatemala: 0.09% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workersEl Salvador: 1.62% of the labour force in 2020Guatemala: 0.64% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms importsEl Salvador: 3 million TIV in 2025Guatemala: 6 million TIV in 2023